


The thing about wings

by Why_do_you_want_to_know



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Wings, Angry Castiel (Supernatural), Caring Castiel (Supernatural), Caring Dean Winchester, Castiel in the Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), Cursed Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester Has Broken Bones, Dean can see Cas' wings, Dean is an Idiot, Emotionally Hurt Dean Winchester, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt Castiel (Supernatural), Hurt Dean Winchester, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Oblivious Castiel (Supernatural), Oblivious Dean Winchester, Oblivious Sam Winchester, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Castiel (Supernatural), Protective Dean Winchester, Silly Castiel (Supernatural), That seems like enough tags...., Worried Castiel (Supernatural), Worried Dean Winchester, and only mentioned for a second, but in the past, dean is extremely oblivious, everyone is oblivious, it all works out in the end, just a quick warning, just tagging to be safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-07 18:01:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20313703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Why_do_you_want_to_know/pseuds/Why_do_you_want_to_know
Summary: Dean can see Cas' wings. That was normal enough - he always had been able to - so could Sam. Couldn't he?Basically 5 chapters of Dean being oblivious.





	1. Chapter 1

Dean looked across the room to where his brother was bent over a book, reading madly about angels. Personally he didn't understand Sam's desire to read this book about angels, or in fact, any books about angels. If he wanted to know an angel fact, he would just ask Cas, you know, their resident angel….. who would happily answer their questions about angels as long as they answered their questions about humans.

The fact that Sam seemed to have a particular addiction to learning about angel wings did not help his case at all. After all, if Dean wanted to learn about angel wings, he would observe Cas' wings. What he would not do is read a whole book about something he could see and understand with his own two eyes.

He tried to turn back to his own book, he was reading some lore about demons, or to be more exact, a new kind of devils trap. If he could understand how this new trap worked and what ingredients it needed then it would make trapping and stopping demons so much easier. Unfortunately, he just couldn't settle. It probably didn't help that it was written in a foreign language, a foreign language he could read but that didn't make it any less taxing.

Something was turning in his gut, pulling him one way then another and he was struggling to sit still. He felt like he was waiting for something, looking for something, but even though he had searched every corner of his brain, he couldn't think of anything it could be. He had thought through anything he might of been trying to remember, everything possible from Sam's birthday (not for a couple of months) to going on a grocery run (they had restocked everything only a few days ago, they would be fine for a week now) and yet still couldn't find anything which could be making him feel off like this. He was even wondering if he was ill, but he had no other symptoms and it didn't quite add up.

Just as he was thinking of getting up to grab some food, thinking maybe his unsettled feeling was coming from being hungry or bored, or thinking about maybe, god forbid, going for a run, (he really was feeling that weird, he thought he might just be a bit restless from sitting still for too long), there was a flutter of wings and Cas appeared in the middle of the library, his wings flapping a few times to help him balance before settling against his back.

Even after all these years, the sight of Cas' wings never stopped being a breathtaking sight. They were completely black but, in the correct light, shone like an oil spill, mixtures of purples, blues, greens and reds. In the shadows they looked pure black, but not in the way which swallowed all light and warned of evil, no Cas' wings were black in the way that spoke of power, the strength to protect those he cared for, black in the way that spoke of an unspoken promise, a promise of better things on their way.

In fact the biggest mystery around, for Dean at least, was how Sam acted so unbothered around Cas about his wings. He was a massive geek about everything angel, especially their wings, and yet he still hadn't asked Cas to have a closer look nor asked how they worked or acted.

To be fair, it was probably just as well, because for as long as Dean had known Cas, his wings had been scarred. After pulling Dean from Hell, his wings had been covered in painful looking burns, which Dean had yet to stop feeling sorry about, and after Cas' grace had been stolen and then returned, they were even worse, feathers missing and wilting, the bone exposed. Dean never thought it had taken anything away from their beauty, they had always shone in the light, in fact he thought it made them look badass, but he could see why Cas may be self conscious and why it would probably be best not to bring them up.

Now they had had some time to heal, feathers growing where the old ones fell and the bones and muscles healing, but they weren't quite how they were before, still burned but even more scarred than when they had first met. It was one of Dean's greatest regrets - that he had dragged such a pure being down the path that ended here, that he had corrupted such a loyal angel. Unfortunately, he was too selfish to wish they had never met, too weak to do much more than momentarily think about how much happier Cas would be without them, without him. Because, to tell the truth, Dean's life had improved tenfold since meeting Cas, his life had barely been worth living before, Sam being the only thing keeping him going, but now he had Cas, now he had another reason to keep kicking, to keep saving the world and seeing the good in humanity.

"Hello Dean, Sam." Cas greeted them as he turned and all but collapsed into the nearest chair.

Dean turned a concerned gaze on Cas, but after seeing that other than the regular scars he wasn't hurt in any way, he turned back to his book with quick "Hey Cas, everything ok?" He watched as Cas' wings twitched towards him as he spoke, before folding tightly behind Cas' back.

He felt something inside him settle at the angel's entrance and he found himself finally able to concentrate on the ingredients and method for this new devils trap.

Sam finally tore his gaze away from his book to look at Cas. "Hey. So get this." He said, clearly still distracted by something he had just read "apparently from this book, angels don't have traditional wings, the whoosh noise you make when you leave is just the displacement of air as you teleport."

Dean bust out laughing, assuming that Sam had said it because he thought it was hilarious, but when he saw Sam's confused expression he stopped, well… a little. 

"Sam." He said, still spluttering "you need to stop reading that book! Like right now!"

"Why?" Sam asked, sounding offended. He didn't look like he was joking and his eyes looked sincere, but Dean couldn't see how he wasn't joking, after all Cas clearly had proper wings.

"Why?" He said still laughing quietly, slightly confused "because angels have wings?" He voiced it as a question but he was fairly sure it was a statement, Cas' wings were right In front of him at that very moment.

Sam still looked confused and slightly unsure. Dean still couldn't figure out why! Cas' wings were right there after all, Dean quickly added "anyway, explain the scorch marks!" Every angel left scorch marks so even if Cas was just weird, scorch marks were a pretty good argument.

Sam nodded in agreement, obviously realising that the book was definitely wrong and carefully folding it to put back on the shelf, Dean hoped he would add a note saying the book was wrong or else they were going to have some confusion in a while when someone tried to read it.

Sam looked like he wanted to say something but just then Cas started speaking.

"Dean's right, we do have bird like wings, the sound is us flapping them." His wings moved as he spoke, gesturing to Dean when he said his name and waving in the air a bit. Dean tried his best not to laugh but it was very difficult with Cas standing there, still as a statue, giving nothing away, while his wings waved comically in the air.

Sam opened his mouth to say something again, but Cas cut him off, again. "Dean already knew because of the scorch marks and also because he saw the shadows in the barn when we first met." Cas sounded sure of what he was saying, but his eyes almost definitely flickered to Dean as he was speaking, doubt in his eyes. It was gone as soon as it appeared so Dean guessed he must have imagined it. What would Cas even be doubtful about?

Dean nodded along,but inside he was laughing, 'sure' he thought 'that was the only time I've ever seen them' but he didn't say anything out loud. If Sam and Cas wanted a little inside joke then he wouldn't stop them, he could manage a small laugh at their antics, even if thinking of then having a joke just between the two of them caused an unexplained feeling to twist in his gut.

In the back of his mind, he questioned whether this meant something, but what could it mean? Dean wasn't that special and so it wasn't likely that Sam couldn't see the wings. Dean had never not been able too so he just assumed it was the whole true vessel thing. It was a reasonable assumption for someone who had just met angels. So in the end he just pushed the doubt to the back of his mind and focused on the clear things.

Those things being the new devils trap he was reading up on, the fact that Sam needed to find new reading material and the fact that Cas was here, sitting on a chair next to him, his wings twitching every now and then like they wanted to reach for something but Cas was holding them back. Oh and the world wasn't ending at that exact moment in time, which was always a win.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas turns up at the bunker, but hes injured.
> 
> Also Dean should really start looking into some of this confusing stuff.......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! Here is chapter 2!! I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but hopefully quicker than this one was. Its all written, just needs editing.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!

It was another couple of weeks before Dean saw Cas again. After that day in the library, Dean had figured out how to use the devil's trap and Sam was still desperately looking for a new angel book. (Dean was still wondering why Sam was so addicted to angel facts.) 

Unfortunately Cas had to go and do angel business and although Dean would have loved to see him since he seemed unable to sit still for long when Cas was away - he had decided to not look too far into it - he understood that Cas was busy so had just resigned himself to not seeing Cas for a bit.

That made it a big surprise when, in the middle of cooking burgers in the kitchen, a whoosh noise filled the room and Cas appeared.

Like always, Cas' wings flapped a few times before folding back, but this time he visibly winced and when Dean looked at him properly he saw blood staining his trenchcoat and splattering his wings.

"SAMMY!" Dean yelled down the hallway, concern filling his voice as he looked at his angel, barely managing to stand. Wait a minute. His angel? Where did that come from?

"Hello Dean" Cas croaked out "sorry to be an inconvenience."

Before he had time to either tell Cas he wasn't an inconvenience or figure out why he was thinking of Cas as his angel, Sam ran into the room.

"Cas!" He said as he skidded to a halt in the doorway, "are you ok? What happened!"

Dean wanted to yell at his brother. Was he stupid? Clearly Cas wasn't ok! He looked like had been attacked if he state of his wings were anything to go by. Before he could even open his mouth to yell, Cas started speaking.

"I was cornered by some demons. They had angel blades. I will heal, I just needed somewhere safe to do so, I hope you don't mind."

This time it was Dean who found his voice first, like he had been a few seconds behind everyone else in processing what was happening before, but this time he was a few seconds ahead "of course you can stay!" Dean said quickly "come on let's get you to your room so you can rest a bit."

With Sam's help he managed to maneuver Cas to his room, making sure not to touch his wings. He thought about asking if he needed bandages or something on them, but Sam hadn't mentioned anything and neither had Cas so he assumed that it meant that Cas' grace would deal with it just fine, after all these two were the ones who knew a thing or two about angels, not him.

It was actually really nice to have Cas around. Dean felt more settled than he had for the last couple of… well, years. And to make things even better, Cas was completely fluent in foren languages, allowing them to ask him to read the foren books, including the odd one in enochian, so they could have info without going through all the hassle. Dean would feel like he was using Cas, except for the fact that he wanted to be helpful and truly enjoyed reading.

Dean kept his eyes on Cas' wings, sure that if he was unhappy they would be his first clue. Cas may have mastered the poker face, but he hadn't mastered the poker wing.

It was about 3 days later that Cas walked into the war room while they were sitting there discussing a case and announced he was leaving.

"Hello Dean, Sam. I just thought I should tell you that I'm leaving now. Thank you for the hospitality, I hope it won't be too long before we see each other again. Don't hesitate to pray if you need me." He said, his tone clear, even while his wings were drooping. In fact, Dean would go as far as to say he looked sad about the prospect. Not that it mattered that much, he wasn't going to let Cas flap away, not while his wings still looked like that. One of the wounds still looked like it was bleeding!

"Ok Cas," Sam said "don't hesitate to give us a ring or pop in if you need us as well."

Dean just stared at his brother. What was he doing! Cas couldn't go, not with his wings looking like that! They were still a mess, in fact Dean would be surprised if he could even fly on them yet.

He saw as Cas' wings spread, preparing to flap and whoosh him away, the movement causing Cas to wince, but Dean interrupted.

"Yeah, nice thought Castiel, but no." He said, his voice ice with an undercurrent of steel. It was a tone which held no room for argument.

Cas flinched at the use of his full name, his face showing he knew exactly why he was in trouble.

Sam just gaped at his brother, clearly thinking that Dean was mad at Cas, not worried, due to his use of full name and also probably the fact he wasn't letting Cas fly away.

"You just flinched and you've been healing 3 days, which I'm sure isn't enough time for even an angel to heal from angel blade attacks." He said, keeping the same tone as before, he was not going to let either angel or brother argue with him about this.

Cas opened his mouth, probably to argue, but a glare from Dean caused him to drop his shoulders and take a step back, a clear agreement. "I suppose Dean is right." He said slowly "if it wouldn't be an inconvenience, I might require a bit more healing time."

Dean rolled his eyes before saying "of course it isn't an inconvenience, we like having you here, now don't try to leave again until you are healed, for real this time."

Cas nodded in defeat as Sam stood up and walked over to him "could you help me find a book on angels which wasn't just made up on the spot by someone who met one angel one, please?" Sam asked, putting on his brightest puppy dog eyes.

"Ok," Cas said, walking towards the bunker library "I'm sure you'll have something in here that is correct." It seemed that not even angels were immune to puppy dog eyes.

Dean gave them 10 minutes before he felt restless again and a need to go to the library.

He walked in on the lovely sight of Sam, hunched over a book once again, looking like he was a second away from eating the pages, and Cas, his wings resting gently on the floor as he flicked through some old, dusty book which looked like he had just pulled it from the most boring part of the library.

"Hello nerds" he said walking in, feeling the unsettled feeling in his gut stop once again - he really should look into what was causing that.

Neither Sam nor Cas did much more than grunt in his direction, both of the too busy reading to pay much attention to Dean. He was almost offended, but Cas' wings reached out towards him in some form of wave, so Dean decided to forgive them as he plopped down in a chair and pulled the book he had left there this morning over so he could read it.

He had been sitting there, strangely at ease, for 10 minutes or so before Sam ruined the comfortable silence by speaking.

"Right Cas, can you please confirm whether this book is accurate or not." Sam said, leaning forwards in excitement as he read out "angel wings are very expressive, it's angels main form of communication apart from speaking."

Cas nodded his head "yes that's accurate, it's why all angels are so stony faced," he explained, "We don't show emotions on our faces, normally anyway, because we show them on our wings." At Sam's confused expression Cas added "I've spent a lot of time around you two, causing me to pick up on things like facial expressions in order to make communication easier." Sam nodded, understanding what Cas meant.

Sam was clearly pleased about finally finding an accurate book about angels. He started beaming as he turned back to his book, excitedly flicking to the next page.

Dean smiled as well, he already knew that angel wings were expressive, it was hard not to with Cas' wings waving every time Cas spoke, but the whole main form of communication was new to him, maybe that was why Sam bothered reading books on angels, and it also explained why he was acting like he didn't know things about wings which were clearly visible, he was wondering whether the other facts were accurate! Suddenly everything made so much sense.

He laughed slightly with joy at his own silliness and also just because he was in a good mood. (why wouldn't he be, Cas was here, Sam was here, the world had managed to stay in one piece recently) Suddenly movement caught his eye and he watched as Cas's Wings started to curl towards him while he was laughing before aborting the motion and snapping back into Cas' body.

He added that to the growing list of things he should probably look into at a later date before turning back to his book, no point wasting his newfound ability to sit still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> Comments speed up the posting of the next chapter and really encourage my writing!!
> 
> Have a great day/night!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas appears in the bunker after a case gone wrong. Dean is still being oblivious but this time he's sad oblivious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, i'm a bit unsure about posting this chapter. I'm not a million percent happy with it, but i want to give you a chapter and i'm not going to be able to get it any better.   
Hope you enjoy!!
> 
> {TW: mentioned past self harm but none actually in the fic. Its just mentioned.}

The next time Cas arrived at the bunker, things didn't quite go as smoothly.

Dean had been sitting in his room, well lying on his bed was more exact, with music playing loud through his earphones, trying to block out the outside world.

He was not in a good mood.

But he wasn't mad at anyone else, or really anything else, he was mad at himself, furious to be exact.

He and Sam had just returned from a hunt, it had turned out to be a skinwalker, a pretty clever one at that.

It was a long, hard hunt and long story short, a mistake on Dean's part had led to a 15 year old and her 11 year old cousin both ending up in hospital. They would survive, but that didn't change anything in Dean's opinion. It was his fault, and that was that.

Sam had tried to talk to him, tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault, but Dean just wasn't listening and wouldn't leave his room for anything, food, beer, feelings talks - anything.

After a while Sam had given up and retreated to the library to write up the most recent case for future reference.

Dean was pulled from his self deprecating thoughts by his brother's voice calling out "No, don't, he doesn't want to talk to anyone…."

Whatever else Sam was calling was cut off by his bedroom door swinging open, revealing Cas standing there.

His wings were flared out behind him, but that was the only sign that he was even slightly frazzled.

"Dean." He said, that one word filled with so much relief it caused Dean to do a mental double take. Cas' wings relaxed seemingly just from seeing that Dean was still kicking, though Dean was sure it couldn't be because of that, and Cas took a careful step into his room.

"I was worried, Sam said you hadn't left your room since returning from the hunt. Are you ok?" Cas said, he was shifting uncomfortably as he talked, his wings half unfolding and folding again.

"I'm fine," Dean said with a sigh as he turned his music off, the movement aggravating the slash on his side that the skin walker had managed to get in before Dean had killed it.

"You're injured!" Cas gasped, worry clear in his voice as his wings flared out again.

"It's fine!" Dean snapped annoyed, he deserved pain. Because of him, two children were in the hospital, because of him two children were hurt. "It's just a scratch." He assured the worried angel who had now taken a few more steps into his room.

"I may not be very good at understanding humans," Cas started "but I have figured out by now that if someone says they are fine, 90% of the time they are the complete opposite of fine."

Dean rolled his eyes, of course Cas would have figured that out just in time to call Dean out.

"Look, Cas, I'm ok promise." Dean said, making sure to keep his voice even and hide any hint of pain in his voice, even if something inside his heart was yelling 'please don't leave me' and 'please hold me'. He could ignore those feelings, he always did. He always would. Cas deserved so much better than a pathetic human who had a bit of a crush on his best friend. Ok, maybe a bit more than 'a bit of a crush' but still….

"Really Dean." Cas said, his face blank but his wings flared wide, as though he was trying to intimidate Dean into telling the truth."because I don't think you are okay. I think that even when you are hurting you hide it because you don't think you deserve to be saved." 

Dean felt like a deer in the headlights. It was all true, but hearing it come from Cas was just that little but worse than when he normally thought it.

"Really Castiel?" Dean said. "And you think I do deserve to be saved, even after all I've done."

Dean knew that using Cas' full name was a low blow, he only ever used it when he was mad, but Cas was trying to convince him that he was important, Cas was trying to pretend that Dean mattered, and the only thing that hurt more than knowing you don't matter, is when one of the few people who you care whether you matter for, tries to pretend you matter.

Dean watched as Cas' wings dropped, even as his face stayed blank. Dean knew he had hit a nerve, and for some reason if made him feel sick.

He had done it with Sam many times, purposefully said something that would hurt to make him leave, but it had never hurt him before, never made him feel sick, he assumed it was because if the way Cas' face remained blank even as his wings dropped.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way Dean." Cas said, still not leaving "but yes, I do think you deserve to be saved."

Dean rolled his eyes, looking away. Only Cas wouldn't leave, even after he had been horrible, Cas had the patience of a saint when it came to Dean. What Dean couldn't understand was why Cas still pretended that he cared, still pretended that Dean meant something. Dean had given him the perfect opportunity to just walk away, yet here he was.

He felt as all his energy drained away, his anger draining with it, as he dropped back onto the bed.

Cas ran forward straight away, breaking his stony facade as he leaned over Dean, his wings fluttering worriedly, "Dean!" He gasped out, clearly confused over Dean's little flop.

"Yea I'm all good." Dean muttered tiredly.

Cas have him another worried look as his wings arched over his head, creating a canopy of sorts over Dean's bed. It made Dean smile a bit, the thought of his best friend wanting to protect him.

Cas looked unimpressed at Dean's answer before he quickly grabbed Dean's arm.

"What the hell!" Dean gasped, his energy returning momentarily with the shock of having his arm grabbed. He tried to grab his arm back, but Cas had angel strength on his side. He was confused about why Cas had grabbed his arm before Cas rolled up his sleeve to check his wrists. There was nothing there except from the usual scars and he saw Cas relax slightly.

"Really Castiel!" He said annoyed, using Cas' full name again to show him exactly how annoyed he was. He didn't think he had used Cas’ full name this much since they first met. Unfortunately, even the use of his full name again, didn't cause Cas to back down and leave.

"Yes Dean." Cas replied, his tone even but his wings quivering with emotion "remember I rebuilt you from nothing after Hell, I know what scars you used to have, and I know how you got them."

Dean wanted to deny, maybe yell, but his energy had disappeared again almost as soon as it had arrived. "I know you do" he quietly said instead "but that was before, that was ages ago, I'm past that I promise."

"Really Dean?" Cas said sceptically. He quirked his eyebrow and everything. "Because I'm no therapist, but I would say you aren't exactly 100 percent right now, mentally anyway."

That caused Dean to pause a second. If it was anyone but Cas then he would instantly roll his eyes and say 'I’m not a teenage girl', it was a defence mechanism of sorts, but this was Cas and sheltered under Cas' wings he felt safe. Because of this he actually thought things through, he thought of how he didn't want to do anything, his lack of energy, how he just wanted to curl into a ball and cease to exist. Honestly thinking about basically his entire life, it made sense.

"You know Cas," Dean said tiredly "I think you might be right. Don't worry though, it never lasts long."

Cas nodded, though the way his wings didn't move, Dean would have to guess he still wasn't sure that Dean would be fine.

"I just need to -" his sentence got cut off as he yawned "need to sleep." He mumbled, curling up under his duvet.

Cas nodded but still made no move to leave "I will watch over you."

Dean wanted to argue, to say that it was just creepy, but Cas' wings were still forming a canopy above his bed, looking like they would easily block out any bad and keep Dean safe. And Dean couldn't lie to himself and pretend that having Cas there didn't make him feel protected, cared for and, well… right. Having Cas there felt right.

Like Cas belonged there. Like Cas belonged by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!  
Thank you so much for reading!! If you would be able to drop a quick kudos/comment that would mean the world to me!!  
Hope to see you next chapter!! (I have no idea when it will be out!)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A witches curse, a broken leg and a lot of personal space bubbles bust. Also Dean is still being oblivious (but i doubt that's a surprise)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! I have chapter 4!! Just one more chapter after this one!! This chapter is slightly longer than the previous ones because it got a little out of hand and ran away from me. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> I hope you enjoy this!! I have no beta so all mistakes are my own, if you notice any please point them out so i can correct it.

Cas had always had problems with personal space.

Well, he had problems with personal space when it came to Dean.

Everyone else he seemed to know exactly where the socially acceptable distance to stand was. But not with Dean. Oh no. With Dean he always stood a bit too close to be normal.

At first, Dean had found it weird and had to constantly remind Cas about personal space. But now, he normally just allowed it, it felt weird when Cas strayed too far and normally meant they had fallen out over something.

******

"Not witches!" Dean gasped, his eyes widening as he turned to look at his brother who had just been describing a case. At Sam's nod, Dean turned to the table and rested his head on it "I hate witches!" He complained.

A small sigh from Sam was all he got in response so, sensing that they couldn't just let it go, Dean quickly packed his bags and got ready to go.

The hunt was mainly fine. They found the witch quite quickly, she had been cursing anyone who had upset her so she wasn't hard to find, and found her hideout even quicker.

The only problem was when the witch, after taking one look at Dean and his attitude, yelled a curse in his direction. She clearly thought she knew a thing or two about Dean, especially if you bore in mind she had cackled something about "your angel won't be able to help you now!" But Dean assumed it was just a bluff and got on with the fight.

Obviously because nothing can ever go easily for the Winchesters, (and yes, getting cursed does count as easy, as long as there are no immediate effects) Dean got thrown into a wall and landed with his leg at a weird angle. Sam managed to finally gank her, but gained himself a wrist which looked almost definitely broken.

"Lucky us." Dean had said as soon as he saw Sam's wrist.

They managed to hobble back to the motel they were staying in, before Sam decided they needed to call Cas down to help them.

"Castiel, if you're listening, we need your help." Sam said, facing the sky. They both stood there quietly for a moment, before Sam sighed and turned to Dean "You do it! He actually answers you!"

Dean rolled his eyes "he's probably just busy!" He said before turning to the sky, well… motel roof, "Castiel who art in heaven, we think anyway. If you have your ears on, please can you whoosh your feathers down here. We need your help." He prayed before quickly adding "please." On the end.

They only stood in silence for about a second this time when there was a whoosh and Cas appeared, flapping his wings for balance as always.

Sam gave Dean a meaningful look, clearly saying see, I told you so, through bitchfaces. Dean ignored him.

Dean checked Cas, over quickly, checking that he hadn't been hurt since they last saw each other. He didn't know why, but seeing that he was in one piece calmed something in him. He decided to ignore it. It was a just worry. Worry over friends.

He couldn't even lie to himself! How could he even try to hide this from anyone else!

"Hello Dean. Sam." Cas said, his wings flapping one more time before settling, relaxed, against his back.

"Hey Cas," Sam said with a smile, he was so over being offended about Castiel answering Dean but not him.

"What did you need help with?" Cas asked, his eyes flicking to both Dean's leg and Sam's wrist, meaning he was probably just asking to be polite.

"Take a guess." Dean said because his leg was really starting to throb and he was a bit of an ass.

Instead of getting all huffy, Cas just rolled his eyes, used to Dean's moods by now, and replied "well in that case is it the weather? Is it raining? Is that what's upsetting you?" Cas asked deadpan. Sarcasm practically dripping from his words.

Dean rolled his eyes but, luckily for everyone involved, shut up.

"Can you help, please?" Sam asked. Careful not to annoy Cas any more than his idiotic brother already had, but his wrist was really starting to hurt so he needed it to get fixed.

With one last glare at Dean, his wings flapping slightly in warning, he turned to Sam "of course Sam." He said, walking over.

A quick tap to Sam's wrist and it was all better. Sam rolled his wrist a few times and, once he was sure it was fine, said "thanks Cas!"

Dean grumbled slightly, something about him being the one with a whole broken leg, but he didn't really mean it and judging from the way Cas' wings twitched, like they always did when he thought something was funny or when Dean laughed, he guessed that Cas knew that.

"And now," Cas said dramatically "time for lunch!"

Sam started smirking and one look at Dean's, obviously disgruntled face, burst out laughing. Cas was also smiling, really showing Dean how much they had tainted the angel.

Dean was not laughing. Broken legs were not fun. Not fun at all. And all he really wanted to do was get some food and head back to the bunker.

When Cas saw the hurt expression Dean was trying to hide, he relented. "Come on Dean, it's ok, I'll heal your leg."

Dean sighed out of relief, he really didn't put it past the two of them to go and get lunch without him, to get him back for being reckless. He shifted on the bed he was sitting on, trying to get comfortable, as Cas walked over.

As Cas walked, his wings spread, reaching Dean earlier then the rest of Cas. They brushed against Dean's arms in a comforting way. It would probably be a bit weird, but Dean was used to it by now. Cas stood too close and did a weird wing hug thing, it was just Cas, just who Cas was.

Dean had noticed that Cas never seemed to wing hug anyone else, but he put that down to either everyone else asking him to stop at some point of another, or maybe he just felt like only hugging Dean. He did always stand the correct distance from everyone else.

Dean never thought about it too hard.

Once Cas reached him, he reached his hands out and carefully touched Dean's leg. Dean tensed, ready and……

And nothing.

His leg didn't fix there was no rush of grace, nothing.

He watched as Cas' wings flapped in agitation as he tried to heal Dean's leg again.

Still nothing.

"What did that witch do!" Cas growled. Dean was sure that Cas would probably burn holes in his leg with the intensity of his glare.

Dean and Sam both thought, hard, about the fight.

"Ummmmm….." Dean started, rubbing the back of his neck. "She did curse me…." He said slowly, "and said something about how an angel wouldn't be able to help me now…"

Cas' glare moved from his leg, towards him, his wings flaring in a form of intimidation tactic. "And you didn't think to mention this earlier?" He asked, his tone low and angry.

Dean rubbed his neck again, feeling uncomfortable under the angel's gaze. He had a lot of practice with Cas' staring, but this was worse than normal, this was angry. "Sorry?"

Cas sighed as he threw his hands up in the air, aspasperated. However, Dean could see from the way his wings dropped that he was just tired, bone tired.

"She's dead now, right?' Cas asked, something dark lurking behind his eyes. Sam nodded yes while Dean just looked at his best friend (and secret crush) there was definitely something there. Something in his gaze which suggested that if the witch wasn't already dead, she would have been very soon.

"I'm sorry, I really am. If it helps I think she was only an amateur witch so it shouldn’t be too hard to break." Dean said, hoping he sounded as sincere as he felt.

Cas nodded distractedly before turning to Sam. Dean felt awful. Maybe if he wasn't such an ass all the time the witch wouldn't have cursed him, and then maybe Cas wouldn't be looking, well, looking like that. Like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Like being unable to help Dean was causing him physical pain.

"Well, I guess all we can do now is get back to the bunker." Sam said, his tone suggesting he was as weary as the rest of them "hopefully we will have some anti-curse books that could help."

Cas nodded, stealing a quick glance at Dean, before saying "who's driving?"

Dean tensed up at that. Of course he couldn't drive with a broken leg, he knew that, but the thought of someone else driving his car, his baby, hurt him somewhere deep inside.

"I'll drive." Sam said quietly "sorry Dean, but there's nothing we do, we need to get back to the bunker."

Dean nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. He didn't quite know why he cared so much about someone else driving his car, it was just…. Baby was his…. The only thing he had left of simpler times, from when the worst thing they were facing were wendigos and the odd ghost.

Baby was the only thing he had from when his dad loved him.

Cas walked over and sat next to him, his wings draping around Dean's shoulders and squeezing him, showing that although be tried to hide it, Cas had seen his upset.

"Come on." He said gently, "let's get you to the car."

Cas carefully stood and allowed Dean to lean his weight on him, acting as a human crutch, as they walked to the car. Cas' wings wrapped around his shoulders once more as they walked, making sure he wouldn't fall.

They managed to get Dean into his car without causing him any excess pain. After a moment of hesitation, Cas slid Dean into the backseat. Dean was about to argue, but then Cas slid in next to him and propped Dean's leg up on the spare seat.

Sam slid into the front seat and once sure everyone was ready, pulled out of the parking lot.

The jostling of his leg as they drove, caused Dean to have to bite back a cry of pain.

As though he could hear Dean's internal pain, Cas carefully pushed Dean down, so that he was lying on the seat with his head cushioned on Cas' lap.

"Rest Dean," Cas said when Dean looked at him confused "I'll wake you when we are back at the bunker."

Dean nodded in understanding and slowly blinked his eyes shut. He knew that he could trust Cas. He also knew the sooner unconsciousness came, the sooner they would be able to get back to the bunker, break this curse and fix Dean's leg.

*

In his sleep, Dean dreamed. He dreamed of sunshine and thunderstorms and power and feathers. He dreamed of picnic's on beaches and star gazing on baby's hood. He dreamed of family, friends, people who were both and people who were more.

*

Dean blinked awake, the car was still moving but the world was dark. He couldn't have slept into night yet, could he? No they would have been at the bunker before night fell. So why was it dark?

It took him a moment to realise that the darkness came from Cas' wings that had curled around his head while he slept, forming a protective cocoon around him. He could see Cas, he was staring out the window, unaware that Dean was awake and watching him.

Figuring out that Cas would keep his promise and wake him when they got home, Dean allowed himself to drift back off.

*

The next thing Dean was aware of, was Cas, gently shaking his arm and speaking in a hushed voice. "Dean, Dean, we're back, come on."

Dean blinked his eyes groggily as he shifted into a sitting position, hissing through his teeth from where he had forgotten about his leg.

Sam appeared around the edge of baby, helping Cas scoot Dean out and acting as a crutch as they walked in.

Cas led the way, holding the door open for the other two before walking to the library.

As soon as Sam had deposited Dean into a chair, he went to grab every amateur witch book they owned, hoping they would be able to find a cure in one of them.

Sam dumped a book Infront of Dean before grabbing one of his own and flopping into a nearby seat, quickly starting to read.

Cas grabbed another book from the pile and sat in the chair next to Dean, opening his book as well and settling backwards with a sigh, one of his wings unfurling and resting around Dean's shoulder like a feathery blanket.

Dean also settled backwards, opening his book and looking through it for any form of anti-angel spells.

He knew that he should be getting antsy around about now. He normally was after this long not walking around, and normally he didn't have a broken leg to deal with, but this time he felt rather settled. With his brother nearby, his angel next to him, wings around his shoulders. Even with his broken leg, Dean hadn't felt this content in a long time.

*

It was about an hour later that Sam spoke up. "Guys I think I have something!" He said excitedly.

Without even telling the others what the spell had said, he grabbed some powder off one of the shelves and threw it at Dean, muttering some Latin as he did so.

Dean waited until the dust had settled, knowing better than to mess up a spell, before yelling at his brother "what are you doing! What if you just cursed me!"

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother before turning to Cas "try healing him now."

Cas nodded, his wings tightening around Dean as he laid his hand on the broken leg.

Dean sat there, waiting. After a moment he felt the feeling of grace flowing into his body, into his bones, fixing everything and making things how they should be.

"Did it work?" Sam asked, sounding worried.

"I think so." Dean replied, carefully standing up, slowly putting weight onto his previously broken leg. When there was no flair of pain, he broke into a smile, "we're good." He said.

Cas nodded, also smiling as he folded his wings into his back, pure relief filling his eyes.

Sam laughed in triumph with Cas and Dean quickly joined in with.

"Well," Dean said "I think this calls for food. I'm starving."

Sam made a noise of agreement while Cas just rolled his eyes. Not having to eat made him less than understanding.

Dean walked into the kitchen, he felt like a homemade meal today, and checked the ingredients.

He had everything he needed for a stir fry; some vegetables, rice and sausages would be perfect. From the looks of things, they would have to go grocery shopping soon, he was using the last of the onions and peppers, but that would be a problem for a different day.

For now, he used his phone to put some music on as he cooked and started chopping, frying and boiling. The repetition calmed him, he didn't know why he needed calming but it was nice anyway.

*

He was just plating up the food when Sam and Cas walked in, laughing over something or another.

Some deep down part of Dean was glad to see that Cas' wings were still folded up against his back, not hugging Sam. He didn't know why he cared, but the very thought of Cas wing hugging Sam made him feel betrayed, he shouldn't feel like that. But he did.

He quickly looked away from the two other men, before he started looking weird, and picked up the plates, passing one to Sam and taking the second for himself, flopping gracefully into one of the kitchen seats and starting to dig in.

Sam sat down opposite him, also digging in quickly. If the look on his face was anything to go by, the food was better than he expected. The thought of shocking his brother with good food warmed Dean's insides, but not as much as Cas sitting next to him did. Especially when one of Cas' wings unfurled and retook it's position draped across Dean's shoulders.

Dean smiled as he looked around his table. Sam and Cas had started talking about something which Dean wasn't bothering listening too, it was something nerdy, he would never be able to understand what they were saying. Even with the whole curse fiasco, today had been a good day and Dean got the feeling he would want to cling to this memory, for when times inevitably got hard again. For when the world needed saving all over again and one of them would probably end up making a sacrifice play. For when times got hard, he wanted to have this memory with him, to help him through it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to read!! If you could, please lave a kudos and comment. It takes a minute and means the world to me. I would love to hear your favourite lines/section!
> 
> I hope to see you whenever i get the last chapter up!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are no cases today, so that obviously means a lazy day at the bunker.
> 
> And Dean is still oblivious. (But he gets less oblivious.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how this happened..... but this chapter is even longer than the last one......  
it wasn't meant to be this long... but here we are. Enjoy.
> 
> Thank you everyone who has commented and left kudos. You really make writing worth it!! 
> 
> This is the last chapter!! So for the last time (of this fic) I hope you enjoy!!

Dean walked towards the kitchen, he felt like a zombie and probably looked like one too. Like every day, he made a beeline straight for the coffee machine, unfortunately this time he didn't quite make it.

Cas was sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee and reading a book, this wasn't too weird, he was spending more and more time with the Winchesters and at the bunker recently.

No, the weird thing was that his wing was stretched out, blocking the doorway and stopping Dean from getting into the kitchen and getting his coffee.

Dean just stood there. He couldn't just push past the wing and clearly Cas hadn't noticed him yet. He could call out to Cas? But his sleep addled brain suggested that it wasn't the best idea, for some reason.

He had been standing there for about a minute when Sam appeared.

"You ok?" He asked as he walked into the kitchen, right through Cas' wing!

Dean was even more confused as Sam disappeared into the other side, clearly neither he nor Cas felt it happen, making Dean even more confused over what was going on.

"Hello Sam." Cas said, finally moving his wings against his back at the appearance of Sam.

Now that the wings were gone, Dean walked into the kitchen, frowning as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Hello Dean!" Cas greeted him happily, either not noticing or ignoring the frown on his face, "there's a pot of coffee in the machine."

Dean grunted his thanks as he went to pour himself a cup, before going and sitting down on the chair next to Cas.

A wing was immediately wrapped around his shoulder. Dean noticed that Cas had started doing that more often recently. Sam sat down on the other side of the table with his breakfast and a cup of coffee.

"Any cases pop up while we were asleep?" Sam asked Cas.

"No, everything seems quiet today." Cas replied, sipping his coffee. He didn't need coffee, not like Dean did, but he liked the smell of it.

"Ok well we'll keep an eye out but I guess that calls for a lazy day in the bunker." Sam said, delight clear in his tone.

Dean smiled, subtly leaning back into Cas' wing embrace, careful not to lean too far. Now he had seen Sam walk through the feathers like they weren't there, he wasn't going to put his life on them catching him.

It took him a moment before he realised that Sam was talking to him, "what?" He asked

"I was asking if you were ok." Sam revealed "you were acting weird this morning."

Dean paused a second, what was he meant to say 'oh yes I just didn't realise you could walk through Cas' wings so was trying to figure out how to get into the kitchen', as if. No, Sam must have figured it out ages ago, they would both probably think he was stupid if he revealed that he had only just figured it out. "I hadn't had my coffee yet," he said instead, shrugging, "I was tired."

Sam nodded but still looked suspicious, while Cas just looked confused.

Dean quickly drained the last of his coffee, before standing awkwardly and washing his mug in the sink. He could still feel both of the other men's eyes on him and he was sure as soon as he left the room they would be talking about him, but right now he didn't care. He would rather they be talking behind his back than staring at his back.

"I'm going to sort out the garage." He announced as he swept out the room, hoping none of the other two noticed his extra weird behaviour.

Even with his thoughts bubbling, his smile still widened as he reached the garage. There was something about the smell of oil and car that was just so cleansing to Dean, he guessed that was something to do with him growing up in a car. Baby had always been his safe place.

Dean spent most of the day in the garage. Washing, fixing, and upgrading car after car. While he did all that he thought.

Was it possible that Sam couldn't see Cas' wings? Obviously most people couldn't because otherwise Cas wouldn't be able to leave the bunker, but maybe Sam couldn't? But why could he? These thoughts went around his head again and again before he finally came to a conclusion. He decided that it must be due to his stint as Michael’s meat suit, it must be left over grace allowing him to see wings. He could see the wings before the Michael palaver, but that was because he was the righteous man and meant to be Michael’s true vessel.

He decided not to tell the other two, seeing Cas' wings didn't mean anything and it would probably wear off soon. A traitorous part of his brain pointed out that it hadn't worn off yet, so maybe it never would, but he ignored it.

By the end of the day, he had managed to get 4 of the old cars up and running, ready for if someone needed a car or they couldn't take baby for some reason. He had also sorted out his head so counted that as a win of a day.

Once he had washed up, he decided to go looking for Sam and Cas. Just like he suspected, they were in the library, doing research. Dean couldn't understand who would choose to do research on their day off.

"Hey." He said walking in and plonking down on a chair. He got a quick grunt from Sam on reply, which probably meant that he was in the middle of a very important chapter about something or other.

Cas responded with "hello." As he stood up from his chair and stretched, his wings fanning to their full length as he did so, before relaxing against his back.

"Ok, so get this," Sam said, his eyes still glued to his book " this book says that angels have mates?"

Cas froze for a second, before saying "what book are you reading!" 

Sam looked as put out as Dean felt at Cas' snappy tone, before Sam answered.

"It's a notebook, diary, thing. It was written by an angel, I don't know how the men of letters got it, but here it is."

Cas sighed, relaxing slightly "so not a published book?"

Sam still looked confused as he shook his head in answer.

"What's wrong Cas?" Dean asked "you seem, upset? Worried?"

"I guess I can tell you, now that you already know." Cas started ominously. "Angel mates are heavens biggest kept secrets. They are basically soulmates and are also." he paused, looking into the brothers eyes as though testing if he could trust them "They are also an angels biggest weakness."

Sam huffed in realisation "that's why you keep them secret, you don't want demons or even humans to use then against you."

Cas nodded, "our greatest fear is for our mates to be hurt."

Dean could have sworn that Cas' eyes flicked to him as he said that, but it must have been a trick of the light. Cas had no reason to look at him.

"Ok, so this saying that only angel mates can see your wings?" Sam asked "is that also true?"

"Our true wings." Cas corrected. When Sam and Dean just looked confused he explained "all angels can see our wings, most demons too, but they see our wings as plain white. Our mates can see our true wings, or to explain it in the simplest way possible, the true colouring of our wings. The can see our 'true colours' in a sense."

Sam nodded but Dean was frozen in shock.

Angel wings were white. Angel wings were white. Angel wings were white.

Cas' wings were black.

Dean sighed deeply, that ruined his 'left over grace' plan, that only left….. no. There must be something else, he couldn't believe that Cas would be stuck with someone like him.

"Are your mates always angels?" He asked. When Sam gave him a weird luck he quickly added "Maybe they could have mates of other species, maybe there's been some unlucky angel in history whose mate is a demon."

Cas shook his head "No demons, it's mostly angels. There have been a couple of humans, but it's rare. I don't think there has been a case of that happening in the last couple of hundred years."

Dean nodded while his brain jumped from one theory to the next, anything which could explain why Cas' wings were black.

Maybe it was an illusion? A hallucination?

"And…. What colour are your wings?" Dean asked before quickly adding "if you don't mind that is."

"It's ok, my wings are black." Cas said, still looking at Dean weirdly.

"Ok." Dean whispered, mainly to himself.

Ok, so Cas was stuck with Dean. Poor him. But what if he didn't want Dean? What if he was disappointed? What if he hated Dean? Dean felt his thoughts spiral down and down into a pit of pure blackness.

"So we will never see your wings?" Sam asked, asking the question Dean really needed answering, without even noticing it.

"No, I can't think of any instances, and even if you did they would be white." Cas answered.

"Well thanks for that information, could have been useful earlier." Dean muttered under his breath, trying to claw his way out if his spiral and get his head around the fact that Cas, the angel, his best friend, who he had had a crush on for the last… forever, was his soulmate.

Did that mean that Cas would want him too?

Neither Sam nor Cas responded to his muttered remark, so Dean had to guess that they didn't hear him, which was probably just as well.

"Can angels reject their mates?" Dean asked louder than before, aiming for nonchalance but probably failing miserably.

"No." Cas said instantly "it is not possible for an angel to reject their mate, just like it is impossible for an angel to reject God."

"You rejected God." Sam mentioned, clearly interested in where this conversation was going.

"No, I rejected heaven, not God." Cas said simply, a slightly sad look in his eyes.

Dean nodded, but Cas was clearly confused about something, "why were you asking?"

"Just interested," he replied "can't I geek out like Sam every once in a while?"

He decided that saying 'oh just wondering if I had to worry about my best friend rejecting me if he ever found out' probably wasn't the best idea. He had just about managed to get his brain around it, well, around the simplified version. He had managed to get his head around the fact only he could see Cas' wing colour, and the only human who could see Cas' wings. Also he and Cas were made for each other. To be fair, it explained a lot. It explained the tug he always felt towards Cas, the feeling of unease he felt whenever Cas wasn't there, the fact Sam never said anything about Cas' wings.

He saw Sam roll his eyes about his geek jab, before he turned away "are we going to watch a movie?" Dean asked quickly, deciding a new topic was a good idea.

Once both Sam and Cas had nodded, he opened up Netflix and started browsing "say if you see anything."

It took a couple of minutes, but they managed to decide on the first Avengers film.

Dean was relaxed, paying most of his attention on the movie, however Cas seemed to be staring holes into the side of his head which was a little off putting. He almost wanted to turn around and ask him what he was doing, but decided to just ignore it. Ignoring things was his plan for most things he couldn't punch.

Suddenly, Cas' wings snapped forwards, and black, oily feathers filled Dean's vision. He flinched, hard, as the wings stopped just centimetres from his face.

A soft "ohh" came from Cas, but Dean wasn't paying much attention. He was too busy panicking, his secret was out, and not on his terms. He couldn't hide it now, he had to face the reality that both his brother and his angel would now know.

"That wasn't very polite." He said, hiding behind his false bravado to block his fear.

A quick look at Cas, showed him that he looked, shocked? Relieved? Dean couldn't tell. Cas looked like he had just remembered something which had been nagging at him all day. Cas looked like he had just realised the answer to a question he had been wondering about for a while.

Cas didn't look disgusted. Nor did he look disappointed or annoyed. Maybe he didn't hate the idea of Dean being his mate!

"What?" Sam asked, but was ignored.

"Sorry, I suspected, but I needed to know. What colour?" Cas asked, his voice shaking slightly.

Dean sighed, did Cas really want that question answered "Oily black, they shine rainbow in the correct light, I'm sorry." He waited, waited for Cas to say that he should be sorry. That he wished his mate was a nice simple angel, not a failure human like Dean.

"What are you sorry about?" Cas asked, "sorry that you are human? Or is this your self hatred back again?"

Dean just huffed while Sam continued looking confused. Sam could feel that this was a private conversation, but he also knew his brother and friend and felt like he might be needed to be a buffer. Just in case.

"You deserve better than me, you know that. You deserve a good future, you deserve someone - anyone - other than me." Dean said, standing in order to leave.

A hand on his arm stopped him.

"I'm not disappointed Dean, I'm glad. I always suspected it was you, you just never mentioned my wings so I assumed I was wrong."

"You… you're not disappointed?" Dean asked, letting his real confusion bleed into his voice 

"I rebelled against Heaven for you. Of course I'm not disappointed. I think you're worth everything."

Dean looked towards Cas, his voice was so soft when talking to Dean, he truly cared. He truly believed what he was saying.

"I'm still sorry. You still deserve better than me." Dean muttered.

"You are everything to me, I've already told you that, but if you won't believe that then I'm going to have to believe it and tell you until you believe it too."

"I'm going to go, I have to go and do…. Something in a different room." Sam said, standing up and quickly walking out the door. Clearly neither Dean nor Cas were planning on killing each other so it was probably safe to leave. In fact, looking at the way they were looking at each other, it was probably safest for Sam for him to leave if he didn't want to get scarred for life.

"Ok." Cas said, still not looking away from Dean.

The door clicked as Sam closed it behind him and Dean looked towards it, breaking their eye contact.

"So, you're stuck with me now." Dean said quietly. Cas' wings pulled around him into a hug and Dean had to remind himself that most people, Sam, couldn't see Cas' wings.

"Wait," Dean said, a thought suddenly coming to mind "if you didn't know I was your mate, why did you always wing hug me, always cover my shoulders with you're wings?"

"Oh." Cas started "Our wings are connected to our true forms and our grace, so although we control them like you would control your arms, some things are reflex, I guess covering our mates with our wings is one of those reflexes."

Dean nodded, stepping close to Cas and pulling him into a hug "I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier" he muttered into Cas' shoulder "I thought it was the whole true vessel thing, this will make me sound stupid but I didn't notice that Sam couldn't see your wings like I could."

"That doesn't make you stupid, you didn't even know mates existed, there was no reason for you to realise it." Cas replied, pulling him closer into the hug "Now, I understand you are new to all this angel mate thing, but I would really like to kiss you."

Dean smiled, Cas somehow managed to sound unsure and confident at the same time "I would like that Cas."

Dean leaned in, meeting Cas halfway. Their lips met, and Dean felt like everything had just clicked. Like everything was just right. Everything was perfect.

Their kiss stayed innocent, but it felt like the best kiss Dean had ever had. All other kisses had felt wrong for some reason, and only now did he realise they felt wrong because only this was right.

All too soon, Dean needed to breathe, but luckily Cas didn't let any distance between them, resting their foreheads together and allowing Dean his much needed oxygen.

When Dean looked around, he saw that Cas' wings had created a canopy above and around them, blocking them from the outside world.

Dean wanted to stay where they were forever, but at that moment he yawned. Cas couldn't miss it and moved backwards.

"Come on, you need to get to bed, there will probably be a case tomorrow and you need sleep." Cas said gently.

Dean wanted to argue, he didn't want to go. He had finally been allowed the love of Cas. He had finally found out why Sam never responded to Cas' wings. He didn't want today to end because he was sure he would wake up and all this would have been a dream.

"Go on, get ready for bed." Cas said, pushing him slightly in the direction of Dean's room.

Dean sighed but went willingly, having a quick shower and brushing his teeth before changing into his sleep ware.

He walked into his room, dreading another night of nightmares or - even worse - memories. Or sometimes when he was extra lucky, his memories and nightmares mixed, creating horrifying images of Cas sending him to hell and Alistair's torture. Sleeping just wasn't fun sometimes. In fact, Dean couldn't remember getting a good night sleep in the last 15 years.

As soon as he walked in, he was faced with the image of Cas. He was sitting on Dean's bed, wearing his sleep ware - even though he still didn't need to sleep - and reading a book.

"Hello Dean." He said, seemingly oblivious to Dean's shock.

"Cas? What are you doing here?" Dean asked, gesturing to his bed.

"You're my mate, I thought I might as well join you, if you're not opposed that is."

"No, please stay." Dean said quickly "I mean, I'm not opposed, at all. I just wasn't expecting to see you."

Cas smiled a small secret smile "of course I'm staying, now come on, I wasn't kidding when I said you need to sleep."

Dean walked over to the bed, suddenly having a thought "Wait Cas, are you sure you want to stay?"

Cas looked confused "I thought you wanted me too?"

"I do, it's just I have nightmares, I might wake up and disturb you or hurt you. Also you're going to be stuck here for hours." Dean explained.

He expected Cas to nod and leave, but instead he just smiled again and said "noted, but you won't be able to hurt me, you know that. I would hope that my presence would reduce your nightmares but we will see. Anyway, I can't think of a better way to spend the night then watching over you."

Dean smiled again, he didn't know why, but Cas saying he would stay made him feel complete. He decided not to look into it too far.

"Thank you" he muttered as he climbed into his bed, waiting as Cas climbed in next to him.

Dean lay there for a second, he wanted to curl into Cas, something in his gut was pulling him closer, but he didn't want to overstep his boundaries.

As if he had heard Dean's thought, Cas swept an arm out and pulled Dean into his side. Dean instantly curled into Cas' warmth, resting his head on Cas' chest and listening to the hum of his grace under his skin. He felt content, happy, at peace. 

He fell asleep almost instantly, warm, comfy and at ease with Cas beside him.

*

The next morning, Dean woke slowly. He had slept better than he had in the last forever. He hadn't been woken by nightmares once and felt warmer and comfier than he had in a while.

It took him a bit before he realised why. Before he realised that the pillow beneath his head was moving and the humming he could hear was coming from it.

"G'morn' Cas." He muttered, not opening his eyes, sleep fogging his voice.

"Hello Dean." Cas replied, fondness filling his voice.

"I wasn't expecting you still be here." Dean continued having woken up a bit and managing to fully firm his words.

"It's ok, I'm happy just being here with you, keeping you safe and your nightmares at bay." Cas said.

"Oh, that's why I didn't have any nightmares," Dean realised "thanks for that."

"You're welcome," Cas replied. Dean opened his eyes to see Cas, he was looking down at Dean with the same fondness as had filled his voice "welcome to the land of he living."

Cas' wings were out, cocooning Dean in their protective feathers. Dean smiled, their oily black colour was for his eyes only. He was still pretty sure that it was a mistake, that or some cosmic joke, they would make him think he had everything he ever wanted, then it would rip the rug from under his feet - but for now, while he had it, he would keep it.

"What are you thinking?" Cas asked

"Just how lucky I am." Dean replied with a smile. "And how I will be very disappointed if this is just a dream."

Cas shook his head "this isn't a dream. Can dreams do this?" He asked, leaning forwards and kissing Dean.

Dean smiled into the kiss, he would never get tired of this, of having Cas here with him, of kissing Cas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S OVER!!!  
Hope you enjoyed that!!  
Thank you so much for giving my fic a chance. If you enjoyed, please leave kudos and a comment!! They really do mean the world to me.
> 
> I also hope to see some of you on some of my other fics. I was on holiday for two weeks with no internet recently, so I've got lots of fics which i am gradually getting around to editing and posting.
> 
> Have an amazing day/night!!!  
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for clicking on my story!!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!! if you did lease leave Comments. I would love to hear from you!!
> 
> Have an amazing day/night!!


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